Citrus Trees in containers

I believe the USDA or some other governmental entity has a repository of scion wood. Requests have to be made by a certain date. Usually cuttings are taken during winter, refrigerated until the cambium on the tree being grafted slips (separates from the bark easily without incurring damage.)

I know the university that runs the Cooperative Service agency in citrus growing states also have repositories, but I don't know if they are willing to sell to individuals. You might check around locally and ask neighbors for cuttings.

Hi 'bettydee'

I'm north of you here in Texas -- north of Denton actually. I have a couple of Meyer lemon trees but I hadn't really considered whether they were dwarf or not. I see you mentioned the distance between the "nodes" is how you tell. Is that the 'leaf nodes' you are referring to..??..

Thanks...
Jann

A much better way to tell if you have a dwarf is to look for the graft on the trunk. If the tree is grafted, you'll be able to see a slight change in the bark texture and color, but, yes I meant the leaf nodes. Fruit is easier to harvest from a dwarf citrus trees. Regular or standard Improved Meyer tree are naturally smaller than other citrus trees, which can grow over 30' tall. Standard Meyer lemon trees will grow between 18' and 20' tall. Flying Dragon root stock will cut that height down to about 8' - 10', smaller if grown in a pot. Since most Flying Dragon root stock is grown from seed, ultimate height will vary from plant to plant.

Flying Dragon root stock will give the smallest tree size and improves the cold hardiness by a few degrees, but it doesn't grow well in alkaline soils. It may get chronically chlorotic in highly alkaline soils which you may or may not be able to correct.

I was able to get a Meiwa and Shanshou Kumquat today on Trifoliate rootstock.
I also got a Brown Select and Owari Satsumas on Tri.

The guy drove in from out of town to see his daughter so I had to drive to Austin to meet up with him.

How bad is your grasshopper problem? Last year when the grasshopper population exploded up to astronomical proportions, they killed all but one of my citrus trees — my Meiwa kumquat.

http://sites.google.com/site/johnpanza/home

The grasshoppers are really horrible out at the land but not at the house. We had a few million of the big ones this year. They killed a few Apple Trees but the Satsuma did okay.

This message was edited Sep 22, 2010 9:32 PM

Those grasshoppers sound like some kind of biblical plague, sure glad we don't have anything like that. Maybe you should chocolate coat them and sell them to gourmets, gourmands? Don

As an afterthought, I have been getting a good chuckle out of following this thread. I think of all the effort some of you go through to raise a lemon tree in adverse climates is about like my trying to keep a snowman alive in our 100* plus summer heat. I guess it could be done, but not by me. Don (again)

It is what you cant have that is the most desirable.

Don,
Are you saying that you have never pushed the envelop to grow zone 9+ plants in your zone 8b? Think of the thrill you would get if you actually succeeded in keeping that snowman alive! Where would you get the snow? :-)

Havent you tried to fit a size 33 ass into a pair of 31 jeans?

PUSH THE LIMITS!!!!!!!

don, I'm with you really. I mainly grow vegetables that like the climate I'm in. Though I do like seeing how long I can keep eating out of the garden -- I've harvested garlic greens, broccoli and even spinach into January here.

But then, you know how it goes.
This lemon tree just came along and so I thought 'why not'. It was a bargain too, till it got its new pot!
Where I grew up we hardly saw citrus in the winter except tangerines at Christmas (pre import-everything-everywhere days). So I suppose there's the thrill of it too.


August-planted squash:

I have a Jamaican Cherry that dies below 28 degrees. We got down to 14F this winter. However, it is just worth it sometimes to lug those pots around. My Jamaican Cherry gives me fruit twice a day. I get some in the morning and a new batch are ripe in the evening. It will continue to do this if the daytime temps are above 82F and below 100F.

My Guava 26F fruits three times a year in its pot so it really pays for itself.

I have a Starfruit tree 26F in a pot that has been producing multiple rounds of fruit all summer. It just flowered again with about 300 flowers and I already have 15 baby fruits forming with more to come.

I also have two Lychee trees 25F that I planted in a corner outside my laundry room window. I will plastic them in this winter and stick a little heater by the dryer exhaust when it gets in the low 20's. If you have tried Lychee, you are missing out.

You have to let me know how the lychee do. I have been wanting some for quite some time. What varieties do you have?

jujube, how much land have you got there? sounds like you have a sizeable in-ground home orchard, plus quite a few in pots.

yes, lychee are so good. ditto for guava.

so, can I graft lychee onto this meyer lemon too? :-D

I have about 1/2 an acre at home that has every square inch filled with fruit. I just bought 11 acres two years ago and have already put about 250 fruit trees on it. I am putting in another 150 this winter.

Lychee do great in pots so start one now in a 15 gallon. Pine Island has some great ones with a rating system. You can also buy them from RiversEndNursery here in Texas via mail order. I really want them to get big and the little nook I planted them in allows them to get about 11 feet tall and 7 feet across.

You can not graft Lychee on to citrus Paani.

lee

bettydee, I liked all the response to my comment on fighting to grow something not suited to your climate. And yes I do it, but in a greenhouse. But all of my trees are grown planted permanently in the ground outside. We live at 1,500' and are surounded with mountains some exceeding 10,000'. It would take a four hour round trip for me to get snow. Except in the winter when it is lower on the slopes. I am not going to do it though because I detest snow, slush, black ice, cold winds and all things cold and inhospitable. Cold ears, cold noses, fingers, toes, you know what I am talking about.

The reward for my dislike of cold is I get lemons all year around. Just one tree produces about 500 a year spaced out over time with flowers, immature fruit and ripe fruit all on the tree at the same time more or less continuously. I have five other varieties of citrus that produce lots of fruit, but not year around like the lemon.

In our location we grow a wide variety of fruit ranging from avocados and citrus to apples, pears and cherries. With a large number stone fruits with climate demands in between the extremes of cherries and grapefruit. Also loquat, blackberries and a few other odds and ends. Don

been reading these posts and would like to know:

I hard-pruned a 5" high old potted calamindin tree in large that had many dead branches due to our harsh hot weather this year. I would like to repot it since the previous owner probably didn't for a long time. the soil it solid with roots. can i assume i can/should root-prune it as well? By how much?

Thanks,

Joy